Sir David Jason had a harsh critique of Jay Blades performance on the show (Image: Getty Images)

Sir David Jason's brutal Strictly Come Dancing dig at The Repair Shop's Jay Blades

Only Fools and Horses star Sir David Jason issued Jay Blades with five words of advice after watching him on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 - the pair would go on to shoot a TV show together

by · Birmingham Live

Sir David Jason issued five words of advice to Jay Blades as he watched him perform to the theme tune of Only Fools and Horses in Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas special in 2021.

As Christmas Day arrived, Sir David joined Strictly fans around the country to watch the special episode, but, despite The Repair Shop host's efforts to look like his famous character, Sir David was less than impressed by his dance moves.

The sitcom legend gave a damning verdict of his performance in his newly released memoir, writing: "But I know what a wardrobe falling down the stairs looks like, and that was my overall impression of Jay's jive. Harsh? OK, possibly a little bit ... But I had certainly seen big pieces of wooden furniture move more smoothly than Jay did in the routine's trickier moments."

After the presenter had finished his jive, Sir David issued him with five simple words of advice: ‘Stick to mending things, matey,’ as he looked at his TV screen.

Sir David issued five words of advice as he watched Blades' performance (Image: BBC/Hungry Jay Media)

But he did admit that he may have been a little harsh on the presenter after the judges score reflected more positively on Blades' dance skills than the 84-year-old had.

Soon after the show had aired, Blades reached out to Sir David to offer his thanks for allowing him to fulfil his wish, as the veteran actor wrote: "Anyway, soon after this, Jay got in touch to thank me for my little video and, by way of return, invited me and Gill down to West Sussex to have a look around the barn where he and his team film The Repair Shop.

"We're both big admirers of that show. Indeed, it's one of the shows Gill and I regularly watch together with completely equal enthusiasm on both sides."

Earlier this year, Sir David and Blades joined forces as they appeared on a 15-part restoration series, David and Jay's Touring Toolshed, on BBC Two.